For those that are not tech savvy, you may not know what a FPGA board is. You might’ve heard of it before, and if you did, you may have heard the name field programmable gate array. For those that would like to learn more about them, they sell kits that will help you get started. These are designed to be programmed, as there is nothing on them, and tell you decide what functions they need to perform. Let’s go into what FPGA technology is, how it was developed, and what company is actually producing the best ones on the market.

Where Did This Technology Begin?

Computers have not always been as powerful as they are today. If you were to have told someone 20 years ago that you would have a very powerful computer that you could hold in your hands, or a cell phone that would enable you to interact with people all over the world to the Internet, they would’ve thought you were crazy. However, this technology would not be possible without the development of first programmable gate arrays, and subsequently FPGAs.

Where Did FPGAs Get Their Start?

The very first ones that were developed were in a city called San Jose. There was an upstart company, one called Xilinx, that decided to create them. Once they did, they started becoming very popular. They realized how powerful they were. It enabled people to simply use these, builder computers, and many other systems, and the rest is history. This is now a billion-dollar corporation, one that is continually upgrading the hardware that they produce. They have many different types of field programmable gate arrays that are there.

Why Was This Technology Developed?

The main reason for this technology was to speed up everything. It was clear that the existing technology of the day was much too slow. This was during a time before the Internet was so easily available. In fact, it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that most people were able to get dial-up access. Therefore, these are the forerunners of the world that we have today, individuals that saw that new and improved technology that can make computers faster was absolutely necessary. And today, when you turn on your computer, or use your cell phone, all of this is possible because of the innovation that was shown beginning with the development of FPGAs.

This technology will continue to get better. Xilinx is at the forefront with many other companies that are competing. All of them produced both low and high end field programmable gate arrays. You can read reviews on them all over the web. The one that you ultimately choose will be based upon solid research. You should have no problem finding information and reviews. The Internet makes it possible for all of us to get this information, which is at our fingertips, in just a few minutes or seconds. You can find out more about FPGA technology on the web, and this will allow you to purchase the one that you actually want that will help you in some way. For more information visit http://www.directics.com/brand/xilinx/